


24 Hour Boyfriend

by MalleusRhodus



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:35:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24163726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalleusRhodus/pseuds/MalleusRhodus
Summary: The difference a day makes. What if Ryuji got what he wanted for a day?
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own in whole or in part any characters or any aspects of Persona 5.  
This is my attempt to get a multi-chapter story started. This piece is just the prologue. Let me know what you think!  
Twenty-four hour boyfriend  
Yet another school week finished, a certain black-haired teenager mused to himself as he passed down the now crowded hallway. The final bell rang, signaling the end of the school week. The halls bustled with other teens excited to start their weekend plans.  
The girls were alight with glee, prattling on about going to Shibuya to shop for the latest summer. And the guys, they were excited to get to Akihabara to play the latest games.  
But as for Akira, just hearing about the seemingly mundane joys of his peers was enough to bring a smile to his face. After all the trouble he and the Phantom Thieves had gone through in the last few weeks through Mementos, starting to bring balance and good sense back to the hearts and minds of the people, a casual weekend was something he could fully enjoy now.  
The black-haired leader didn’t make it far outside his last classroom before Yusuke waved him down.  
“Hey leader.” the artist swooned in his now famous overly enthusiastic tone  
“Hey Yusuke.” Joker smiled back  
The two comrades shared the walk back to the second-floor lockers. As the steps between them counted higher, the two shared the obligatory laughter and musings between friends, a stray comment made here and there about how tough their battles were, and how nice the pedestrian lifestyle would be for awhile.  
Which led to the stray, inquiring question from Fox.  
“So what plans do you have this weekend…?” the slick artisan started. And as the pair turned the last corner leading to Akira’s locker, his eyes caught that flash of sunflower yellow hair just down the hall. “…as if I need to ask.” The bluenette smirked.  
Akira blinked at his friend, at first confused by the insinuation. Yusuke did not meet his friend’s stare, his eyes locked firmly forward. And when Akira didn’t get an explanation, his gaze turned straight ahead.   
And there, standing with his back to the nearest locker behind him, stood the self-proclaimed troublemaker of the Phantom Thieves: Ryuji Sakamoto. His chin was near touching his chest, like his head had grown too heavy with thought to bring it to attention. The box-dye blonde didn’t register that his friends were walking toward him.  
Then, with a growing sense of dread, the memories of that same morning came flooding back.  
That whole morning, from the moment the blonde came to wait for Akira outside Leblanc so the two could walk to school together, he had been silent. Never uttering a word, barely even offering his usual devilish smile to the other. His eyes fell to the ground, and there they stayed.  
Not until the two actually made it to the Academy and were about to walk through the entrance, did he pull on his partner’s sleeve.  
“H-Hey…” was the first exchange the two had all morning. Ryuji’s grip over Akira’s sleeve tightened, almost as if he were afraid he would run. He pulled his black-haired stud to the side, out of view from everyone. When he was sure that the two had their privacy, he cracked.  
“So, yeah…I’ve…uh…got somethin’ to tell you.” Ryuji stammered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.  
“Yeah? You wanna talk to me now?” The taller teen chuckled, trying to tease his friend, easing the obvious tension he had.  
As if coaxed by the balmy breeze that swept up his back, the blonde loosed the words from his control.  
“…Listen…I, think…I think I like you.” Before the final syllable left his lips, that now familiar tightness threatened to squeeze his throat shut.  
A breath or two passed between the teens before either had the bravery to speak. Almost as if it were a dare, to see who would speak first.  
“You…like me?” Akira repeated. “Well, I like you too Ryuji. You’re my partner!” he placed his fist in front of his chest, asking for the obligatory bump.  
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it!” the red on his cheeks was noticeable, even to the black-haired teen.  
Another spring gust picked up behind the blonde, locking his brown eyes onto his forbidden secret.  
Almost instinctively, after the silence had been growing between the pair, the blonde slowly extended his arm back to the loose sleeve he had pulled before.  
“Yeah, man. Look…I’m no good at these things. I just can’t…deal with it anymore. Every night.” He started to trail off.  
“Ryuji..? I…what am I…” the thought could not complete itself. Before the words could form, they melted into the wind, and the morning bell rang.  
The intrusive screech yanked the two teens out from their stupor. And then the full gravity of the horror that just happened fell on Ryuji. He stiffened, his pupils shrunk, and immediately regretted what he had said.  
“I’m sorry….RenRen…I mean Akira. I…didn’t mean it…I just…need to get to class. I’ll see ya after school.”  
The blonde ran past his friend, a shade of red kissed his cheeks, and swallowed his ears. And with no further explanation, he ran away from his companion, and sought shelter in the Academy.  
Akira just stood there, for the briefest of moments trying to piece together everything that was said and the immediate rush that he was still feeling. And of all the things that happened to him in the last month, this by far made the least sense.  
The haze of the memory was broken when Akira felt a jolt on his left shoulder.  
“Yeah, have you noticed that Ryuji’s been acting weird? He seems really upset about something. I caught up with him at lunch today. My guess is he is sick. He didn’t eat anything. He just sat there, staring at his lunch.” The bluenette proffered.  
“Did he happen to tell you anything?” Akira was wondering if his blonde had confided in any other of the team about what he had said to him.  
“No. I asked him why he seemed so down. He didn’t give me much of a response. Rather, a cryptic one.”  
Akira was intrigued.  
“He said he felt like a piece of him was missing. Like he was missing something that hadn’t been taken yet. Kind of poetic really.”   
“Well, I’m sure all he needs is a weekend with his best friend.” Yusuke jested after slapping his leader on the shoulder. He dismissed himself with his best wishes, leaving Joker to face the dilemma in front of him.  
As if on cue, Ryuji pulled his stare from his shoes up to greet his partner just down the hall. Immediately the boy jumped off the locker, and composed himself. He flashed his leader a quick smile, albeit a fake one.  
“Hey RenRen. You ready to go home?” that fake grin belied a hurt that he wasn’t ready to show to his companion.  
“Sure, Ryuji.” A quick smile and the two started on their journey home.  
The spring had been very generous that day. The final petals of the cherry blossoms were falling, creating a seasonal blizzard of discarded beauty across the grounds of the Academy.   
‘How am I supposed to fix this?’ the blonde thought about it as he fumbled in his shoe cubby at the entrance. He was taunted by that same question practically from the second he confessed. And he spent the whole day thinking about it. Part of him entertained the impossibility that Akira would just pretend that he never said it. Just pretend he didn’t look at him dead square in the eye and told him he had feelings for him.  
Akira patiently waited, as he always did any other day, just outside as Ryuji gathered the last of his belongings before setting off campus.  
‘I wonder if he was serious.’ Joker entertained internally. ‘Maybe I heard him wrong.’ Another of a seemingly impossible number of probabilities that could put this whole thing into perspective.  
He didn’t have much time to pick which of the options sounded the most realistic. Ryuji gamboled down the steps and joined his friend with his usual pep.  
“Okay. Ready?” a nervous smile spread itself over his face.  
A simple nod and the two made their way out of the Academy grounds and into the hustling crowds all eager to go home and start the weekend.  
The pair had only walked the first fifteen minutes in the waning hours of the afternoon, and not a single word was spoken between them. Ryuji found security in the ground again, his stare only daring to wander to grab a selfish snapshot of his hero when he thought he wasn’t paying attention.  
‘Maybe he forgot all about it.’ The teen dared to think. Just a quick thought before the next one turned to how handsome his friend looked in the fading sunlight.   
The duo reached the first crosswalk at the busy intersection of Aoyama.  
Ryuji’s gaze got too overzealous. Before he knew it, Akira had caught him in a stare, commanding a new layer of pink embarrassment to grace his cheeks.  
“Okay Ryuji. We need to talk.” The black-haired leader finally broke the silence between them.  
“Talk?? About what?” the blonde started to feign laughter.  
“About this morning.”   
“Oh, about that.” His eyes refused to meet his partner’s.  
“What did you mean when you said that you liked me?” Akira inquired.  
The blonde grit his teeth. Having to explain it was going to take more finesse than he could ever hope to have.  
“Not here.” Ryuji motioned for Akira to follow him. There wasn’t much privacy in and among the late day crowds in Aoyama. But the teen was determined to find someplace they could go to talk.  
Swerving in and out of the crowd, Ryuji found a small open park down on Ichi Namiki Avenue.   
The now fully clothed spring trees provided a canopy of shade under which the teens could be undisturbed by the masses. Once satisfied with his choice, Ryuji let his backpack slip off his shoulder and fall carelessly to the ground.   
“Okay Ryuji. Can we talk now..?” Before the breath behind his words could exit his lips, the force of Ryuji’s body slammed against him.  
Without hesitation, the blonde teen threw himself at his partner, slinking his arms around him and pulling him close.   
There was a very distinct ringing in Akira’s ears, and it grew louder as he felt his friend push more into him. And Ryuji was no better. His throat was tightening, close to choking. It seemed to get worse the more he wanted this.  
“I can’t talk. You know I suck at words.” His chin nested itself over his friend’s left shoulder. When the black-haired teen didn’t respond, the blonde kept the conversation moving.  
“Ya know, I wasn’t sure about today. About any of this.” Another heavy breath drew itself into the boy before he continued.  
“Every minute today, I thought about…this. How I was supposed to explain what I said. And….I got nothin’. I can’t explain it. This is all I could think of.” The teen buried his face in his friend’s blazer, hiding the first stray tear that tried to escape.  
Akira froze. At first the whole scene didn’t register. All he was expecting was a simple explanation but instead now found himself pressed into his friend. Any sense he could possibly gather was quickly circumvented by the heaving of his partner.  
As quickly as it all seemed to happen, the blonde ended it. He pulled away from his companion, creating enough distance between them so that he could easily grab him again if he tried to run.  
The red of Ryuji’s eyes started to return, now more pronounced even in the shade.   
“Dude…say something.” He almost begged. “Please.”  
“Ryuji? I…why did you do that?”  
“I guess…because I like you.” The teen retorted sheepishly. It felt both terrifying and relieving to hear himself say it out loud.  
“You, like me?” Akira repeated.  
“Yeah, dude. I mean that’s what I think it is.”   
“What does that mean?”  
Ryuji struggled to make it any clearer. This was not at all going the way he had planned.  
“I mean, we’re friends right?” Akira nodded assuredly.  
“Okay, well…I like being friends. I mean I like seeing you every day. No matter what I’m feeling, I just feel so much better when I’m around you.” The teen started to blush again.  
“I don’t feel the same way around anyone else. Like I can just be me. And when…” he started to waiver, feeling his confidence ebb. “…when I see other couples, I want what they have. But I can’t think of anyone else…” it was at that moment Ryuji caught his partner’s stare, and he couldn’t muster any more courage.  
Akira ushered his friend over to the nearest bench. Both of them needed its support, both in their own way analyzing what was happening.  
Akira gathered himself and settled next to Ryuji. The spent blonde didn’t even bother looking over at this companion. He just buried everything he had wished he could say to the back of his mind.  
The million questions trying to each force their way out of the black-haired leader didn’t make it to his lips. He opted instead to lay a comforting arm around his friend. He cautiously wrapped his right arm from shoulder to shoulder. The blonde, now staring down at the ground, winced at the touch.  
“God! I can’t believe I’m saying any of this.” Ryuji cursed.  
The chill of the first hour of the evening was starting to settle in. Almost instinctively Ryuji leaned closer for the warmth he sought from his friend.  
“Ryuji. I want…to help. I can’t stand to see you like this.”   
Ryuji turned his head towards his companion, the pale light of the street lanterns catching the smallest glint off the tears he was holding back.  
“Do…do you like me?” he asked hopefully.  
Akira, though he couldn’t ascribe it to gut instinct or just second nature, uttered his response immediately.  
“Of course I do. You’re my best friend.” He had always been close to Ryuji, in fact closer to him than any of the other Phantom Thieves. It was easy to confess at least that much to him.  
“Then…will you go out with me?” The words clung in the air, and they seem to hit Ryuji as hard as Akira. Neither could believe what they had heard.  
“Huh?”   
“Go out with me.” The blonde repeated, slightly less confident. He knew he was gambling a lot on this chance.  
“You want me…and you…?”   
“Y-Yeah. I mean it makes sense right?” the teen started to rub his arm in embarrassment for even suggesting it.  
“Wait. You want us to be a…couple?” the leader stammered. Again Ryuji blushed at the suggestion. He knew he couldn’t ask for too much of a commitment yet.  
“No, not exactly. Just, call it an experiment. You and me. One day. Twenty-four hours as a couple.”   
“A c-couple?” the concept was still forming in the leader’s mind.  
“Just for a day. We’d do what couples do. And at the end of the day, we can go back to being friends…” The sheer implausibility of the plan was pretty apparent even to the simple blonde. Even still, Akira couldn’t help but see the hope in the blonde’s eyes. For the first time that day he saw the old Ryuji shine through.  
“…So what do ya say? Would you go out with me?” Ryuji turned entirely to face his friend, waiting with bated breath.  
He didn’t know what possessed him to say it, whether it was seeing Ryuji happy, or maybe intrigue, the black-haired leader relented.  
“O-Okay.” He flashed a small grin towards his companion.  
“You will?!?” Ryuji jumped from his seat.  
“Y-Yes.” Akira started to chuckle.  
“WAHOOO!” the blonde sprung with new life. He did catch a few stares from passersby, concerned someone was being assaulted.  
Ryuji gathered his backpack, and turned to face his would-be boyfriend.  
“I can’t wait! I’ll come pick you up at 9:00 tomorrow morning.”  
Akira nodded his consent, feeling a deeper sense of elation to see his friend back to normal.  
“One for the road.” Ryuji jumped in for a quick embrace, which his leader returned with a pleasant laugh.  
Once the two separated, Ryuji waved his companion goodbye and raced back home from the park, leaving his newly minted bf alone with his thoughts.  
Once the warmth that Ryuji left with Akira had settled, Akira too gathered his belongings and made his way back home.  
Among the lights and sounds of the day’s end, the teen caught glimpses of the other couples that Ryuji had said existed. And he wondered to himself how all of this was going to end. He saw how happy the couples were when they hugged each other and spared a quick kiss here and there. And somewhere, even deeper than he would admit, Akira saw himself in such a relationship, with only one other person….

Ok. That was a prologue. Been awhile since I caught a yaoi couple I could make a good story about but these two seemed it. Let me know your thoughts as I prepare the next chapter. 😉


	2. 24 hour boyfriend Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now the day is on! Ryuji has the whole day to spend with Akira. With hope in his heart and some shameless cliches, he may get what he wants out of Akira yet.

Ok here is the second chapter of the saga. I thought the best approach would be to make the whole story a multi-chapter epic as their date progresses rather than one super long I hope you all enjoy. Once again, I own nothing in whole or in part of the Persona series.

Morning beams had just broken through the dusty windows of Akira’s room, just barely eight o’clock. Already the dark-haired teen was wide awake, fixing his collar in the cracked body mirror just beside his bed.  
He had been careful not to rouse the still sleeping Morgana, trying his best to avoid his penchant for being nosey. He didn’t need to know what he had planned for today.  
Which, to be sure, he had no plan. He wasn’t sure how this was supposed to work. The whole thing was alien to him.  
Less than twelve hours ago, his friend-in-arms Ryuji had opened up to him and asked him on a date.   
In the time between their last embrace and now, Akira tried to analyze what was about to happen. And still his mind was abuzz with questions.  
‘How am I supposed to date my best friend?’ ‘Am I supposed to be the lead?’ ‘Does he expect me to buy everything?’  
And the last but most important question that haunted him was how the day was supposed to end.  
‘What if he wants…a kiss?’ eliciting the now familiar blush across the hero’s face. It was something he had to face, even though he was certain Ryuji wouldn’t be interested.  
Not that he hadn’t thought of it before. He always sensed a certain draw toward his friend. Their bond had matured, grown, and bloomed in the heat of necessity when they needed to rely on each other the most. So, it made sense, at least to Akira, that they should at least try this. After all, two friends dating each other was not the weirdest thing either of them had heard of just barely a month ago.  
Fixing his hair, setting his fashionable glasses in place, and pulling his buttoned shirt down past the waist of his faded jeans, he exhaled one last time and set to his route downstairs.  
Being Saturday, Sojiro wasn’t even there yet to open Leblanc.   
Akira threw one more quick glance at the barren café and walked into the crisp new morning.  
“H-Hey there sunshine!” a perky voice reached him before his eyes had even adjusted to the light.  
“Ryuji?!” Akira stammered.  
Standing just outside the entrance to the café was the aforementioned blonde, decked out in a blue suede jacket, under which was a plain black t-shirt, and down from there nicely fitting jeans. This was the first time the leader had ever actually seen his friend dress so formally.  
Akira looked down at his watch, then back at the boy in front of him.  
“You’re early!” one for the record books. Ryuji never made it a casual incident to show up to anything early, unless it was something he thought was special.   
“How long have you been here?” the taller asked.  
“Uh, about an hour.” The blonde flashed a playful grin.  
“You’ve been here for an hour?! Why didn’t you text me that you were here?”  
“Well, I was kinda excited. So I left a little earlier. And I didn’t want to rush you. So I just waited.” He waved it off with a casual smile.  
“Well, I’m impressed. You’re never early.”   
“Well, a good boyfriend doesn’t keep his date waiting.” A bashful grin danced over the boy’s face, falling into his imaginary role for the day. It felt good to say it out loud.  
A strange sensation ran up Akira’s body. It started in his gut; a fluttering, that quickly moved from there up to his heart, startling it to beat faster. The teen could only smile in return.  
Akira turned momentarily to lock the door behind him before setting off.  
When he turned back, Ryuji made the short distance from where he had been standing over to greet his date properly.  
The blonde brought his arms up and around his friend’s neck, gently pulling him in close.   
Even though the two had embraced before in the past, usually at the end of a successful battle, this felt different to Akira. It felt somehow more sincere.  
While he wasn’t completely comfortable with it, he still entertained what his role was supposed to be for the day and he returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around Ryuji’s waist.  
Being this close, Akira’s nose detected a somewhat unusual aroma rising off of his friend.  
“Ryuji? Are you…are you wearing cologne?” The black-haired teen actually started to laugh.  
“Don’t laugh!” the teen retorted.  
“Wow. You are *chuckle* you are really pulling out the stops.”   
“Well, it was for a special occasion.” The blonde protested.   
The two separated once they both were happy with the greeting.  
“So, you ready?” Ryuji beamed.  
With a modest smile and a nod from the leader, the two went into the day together.  
The pair wandered down the abandoned streets of Yongen-Jaya, the early morning dew still hung in the air. Not a single shop had opened yet, save for the occasional diner for early breakfast goers.  
The first minutes as a “couple” the two were silent. Each to their thoughts.  
Ryuji eyed the figure next to him. The day seemed surreal to him. The two had gone out on casual Saturday excursions before, but today felt markedly different.   
A flitter of sickness flew around in his stomach. He wasn’t sure why it was there, and maybe that’s what unnerved him the most.   
All the times the pair had gone out together, never had he experienced the strange knots that tied themselves in his gut.  
“So…” Akira was the first of them to break the morning silence. “…what did you want to do today?”   
“Uhm…actually I was thinking about it all night last night.” Ryuji confessed. “I’m not really sure what you you’d want to do.” Ryuji’s eyes wandered just down the end of the block, catching the sight of the local diner.  
“Hey, I’m starving!” the blonde beamed. “You wanna…?” he smiled, nodding towards the restaurant.  
“Oh, yes please!” Akira affirmed. The two friends raced the short distance to the shop, Ryuji taking the lead, desperate to get there first.  
The blonde boy raced up to the door, gave the handled a firm pull, turned to his date dressed with chivalry and waited for him to enter first.  
“After you.” He chirped.  
Akira, never having seen this side of his friend before, couldn’t help but chuckle in his throat again.  
“Oh…thank you.” Akira smiled back in retort.  
It was in short order the two entered the still almost entirely empty establishment, found their pick of the booths, and hurried into their hovel, and buried their faces into the prepared menus.  
Ryuji eyed the selection, only for a second. His eyes climbed to top of the menu and peered cautiously over the border to stare at his friend.  
‘Oh god, what am I supposed to say?’ the blonde had never truly been on a date before. And his inexperience was starting to chip away his confidence.  
And across the table divide, Akira was not much better.  
‘Hm, I wonder what I should say to him. This feels…weird. Like this is the first time we’re meeting.’ His distraction was short lived. His eyes quickly caught the other boy in a mischievous glance from behind his menu.  
Akira placed his menu on the table, waiting for Ryuji to finish pretending like he found what was on his menu to be so interesting, especially since the two had come to this diner at least twice a week.  
Ryuji followed his suitor’s lead, placing his menu down finally to stare over at his friend.  
The two just stared at each other, trying to decipher what the other was thinking, waiting for the other to speak first and end the uncomfortable silent stalemate between them.  
Ryuji cracked a weak smile first, cleared his throat from the dryness that silenced him, and finally spoke the words that had danced around his mind since last night.  
“So…I’m, uh, really glad you decided to do this.” A swift blush started to burn.  
Akira was almost shocked, if not a little amused, by his friend’s words. He could see Ryuji shift uncomfortably right after he said them, like he had just shared a forbidden secret.  
“Yeah, me too.” The leader offered his smile in return. Now that it was just the two of them, away from the prying interests of others, Akira could ask the blonde what he really wanted to know.  
“So, why did you ask me to do this?”  
“Huh? Whaddya mean?”   
“I mean, you asked me to do this last night, and just kinda ran off. I didn’t get the chance to really ask why.” Akira leaned both elbows on the table, and pressed his body forward, hovering closer to Ryuji, asking the boy to share.  
Ryuji just stared at his friend who had almost climbed halfway over the table closer to him. The sight excited him a little, he couldn’t deny.   
“I…I…um…I don’t think I can explain it any better.” He started to where that uncomfortable smile that usually followed when he thought of something romantic.  
“I just wanted to spend a day with you…” the blonde dismissed.  
“But as a couple?” Akira corrected, again commanding the other to blush.  
“Sorta. I mean it’s kinda like an experiment right?”   
“An experiment huh?”   
And that was the best Ryuji could come up with for the time being. He knew he would ruin the whole day if he told his friend why he really asked him out on this faux date.  
“Okay. I’ll bite. So what are the rules?” Akira posited  
“The rules?” Ryuji questioned. “O-oh! The rules! Um, okay. So today we do…pretty much whatever you want to do. But we do it together, and…” Ryuji’s playful stare wandered from the bespectacled boy in front of him, down to his unattended hand.  
“…if things happen, then things happen.” Trailing off into a whisper, Ryuji started to reach for Akira’s hand to take for himself when the waitress interceded with her swift demands.  
“So what can I get you gentlemen this morning?” a fragile civility in her words, especially for someone who had to work so early.  
The two boys were yanked back from the brink of their personal conversation to appease her. And once they had ordered, Akira returned to the original discussion.  
“So, have you actually been on a date before?” he caught the other a little off guard with such a personal question.  
“What?! Of course I have. I’ve been on plenty of dates!”  
“Oh! So you know what you’re doing?” Akira was not at all convinced of the lie he was just fed.  
“Y-Yeah. I know what I’m doing!”  
“Uh huh….” Akira mused incredulously. Ryuji took a quick drink of his orange juice, of which Akira took a quick advantage.  
“…so how many girls have you kissed?”   
Ryuji did a quick spittake, sending orange juice flying across the table, eliciting a hearty laugh from his companion.  
After the boy had recovered from the personal blitz, he stared at Akira, almost upset that he would ask.   
“What?! Where did that come from?”  
“I just wanted to know how experienced you were.” Joker smirked.  
“I…haven’t really kissed anyone yet.” The blonde confessed. “I’m, waiting for someone special to share that with.” The blonde countered, dropping subtleties to his companion.  
One more awkward minute between the two boys passed before Ryuji took his chance to speak.  
“I was actually…hoping that…maybe my first could be with…” the searing heat in Ryuji’s ears grew with every passing word. Before the last syllable could leave his lips, the waitress returned with the patron’s breakfast.  
“Here you are gents! Enjoy!” the same refrain she had said to so many others before.  
Akira was the first to reach for his utensils. His attention was quickly diverted from the hot plate in front of him to the boy across from him, who just stared at his meal.  
“Hey…” Akira knew how to make his pseudo boyfriend happy.  
“…how about after this, we go to Akihabara? I know they just got new volumes of our favorite manga this week.” An immediate smile traveled across Ryuji’s face.  
Without hesitation or even any reason, the blonde boy pushed his breakfast plate across the table to the other side, just next to Akira. He then wheedled his way out of his side of the booth and swung over to the other side and sat comfortably next to his hero.  
Akira eyed Ryuji with some curiosity.  
Ryuji had no sooner made his perch next to the leader, when he leaned over to plant a sweet kiss over his cheek. The taller of the two froze in place, trying to analyze what had just taken place.   
“Thanks RenRen.” Ryuji however, was nothing short of content, riding on the euphoric wind that his friend gave him.  
After another second or so of strange silence between them, the two boys each tended to their meals.   
And perhaps it was a sense of obligation to return his friend’s gesture, or something he didn’t understand yet, Akira leaned over to plant a small kiss over Ryuji’s right cheek before retuning to his breakfast.  
Maddening thoughts rushed through both of the boys’ heads. Aside from the doubts, and fears, there was the undeniable sense of happiness, and hope for what the rest of the day would bring.

To be continued……


	3. 24 hour boyfriend Chapter 3

Ok here is the third chapter of the saga. Once again, I own nothing in whole or in part of the Persona series.

Ryuji’s breathing became labored, his head swimming from expectation. His firm stare was daring Akira to kiss him.

Akira slowly pushed his full weight against his other, bringing the blonde up against the wall behind him.

Ryuji’s heart was racing as he felt the heat of his leader’s breath over his neck. The teen silently pleaded, bringing his hands to grab hold of Akira’s arms to pull him closer.

The black-haired teen’s hands risked offence tugging at Ryuji’s waist. He hovered for a moment a mere inch away from that crucial contact.

“Sorry Ryuji…that this is so late.”

The blonde barely acknowledged what was said, the ringing in his ears overtook any sense of hearing he had.

He simply craned his neck and closed his eyes, giving Akira his permission to continue.

“Ren…” a final plea before…..  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
~Ding Ding Dong~ Attention, Attention, next stop Akihabara

The delightfully pleasant monotone voice came over the train’s intercom. Ryuji’s eyes slowly fluttered open, robbed of the last few seconds of his daydream, only to be bombarded with the bright rays of the mid-afternoon sun glaring through the windows of the train.

It took a moment for the teen’s eyes to adjust from the dreamworld he just left, staring at a world that was on its side. The blonde’s head rested on the left shoulder of the body next to him. His memory, though not completely alive at that moment, did recall why he was on the train, and more importantly with whom. And at some point, though he couldn’t recall when exactly, he had drifted off. 

His heavy head had found its soft repose on Akira’s left shoulder, burying itself in the crick of his beau’s neck. He cautiously lifted himself off his partner, making sure that he hadn’t offended after taking his liberties to sleep on him. 

But there was no one to offend. Akira had himself fallen asleep. 

The blonde boy smiled. He mused to himself how cute Akira could be when he was vulnerable. Just sitting there, arms crossed, his head slumped downward, and that cute little whistle that his nose made when he slept.

Forty minutes riding the local train route to Akihabara allowed the two boys to catch up on some rest, since neither had slept very well the night before. Ryuji more out of excitement, and Akira because Morgana was fidgeting more than usual.

The locomotive’s brakes lightly hissed, signaling the stop was fast approaching. 

It left Ryuji a little time to reflect on the dream he just had. Every detail. Even in the hours of the day he couldn’t escape it. The haunting vision wouldn’t leave him. The same fancy hijacked his sleep, and even his thoughts at school; what he would do if he could just get Akira alone. And truth be known, if he and his interest were alone on the train, he’d try to make his fantasy a reality.

The teen’s attention was forced away from his dream, and back to the still slumbering boy next to him. One more, slightly harder press on the brakes caused Akira’s head to fall lazily over his left shoulder, and just enough to force his lips apart.

Ryuji saw his opportunity, any apprehensions now pushed to the back of his mind.

‘I shouldn’t. But…’ Better sense defied him. But he knew if he never got another chance, he would have to take this one.

After a cautious sweep of the cabin, making sure he had as much privacy as he was allowed, the blonde leaned closer to his rental beau. The familiar ringing in his ears was back. He could feel the unapologetic burn running through his ears and cheeks.

He was close. Close enough to feel the slight breath that passed through Akira’s lips over his. His eyes waned shut to fully enjoy the contact once he made it.

And…..

A sudden lurch from the decelerating train propelled Ryuji against his leader. And he made contact: his forehead smashed against the bridge of Akira’s nose, immediately ripping him out of his own torpor.

“OW!” the black-haired teen shouted, reeling from the sparks in his vision after his friend headbutt him. 

Ryuji quickly tried to compose himself, pretending that he wasn’t just about to kiss his unconscious interest.

“Oh geez. Ryuji! What was that for?” Akira hissed through is teeth, rubbing his sore nose.

“I’m sorry! I can’t control the train!” 

“Oh crap! Did we miss our stop?!” 

“No, but we’re next.” The teen jumped from his seat and grabbed the nearest handlebar.

With a final, prolonged hiss, the train pulled into the next station, releasing the passengers to their whims.

“C’mon RenRen!” like an impatient child at the mouth of an amusement park, Ryuji tugged at his friend’s sleeve, pulling him out into the open streets of Akihabara.

The day was perfect for a trip into the city. The mid-day sun barely had a cloud to challenge it. 

“What a perfect day!” Ryuji mused, inhaling the day’s air. He turned back to his pseudo mate, grabbed at his sleeve again and pulled him along with the afternoon crowd.  
“C’mon RenRen!” The blonde teased.

The pair swerved in between the countless bodies of scattered manga junkies, video gamers, and casual high school weekenders. 

The blonde knew exactly where he was going. He and Akira had been to Akihabara Gamers practically every weekend together. It was almost the site where Ryuji had planned to ask him out in the first place.

Another block fighting through the crowd, the two had reached their destination. In short order they rushed through the sliding doors, up the escalator to the third floor. They were greeted by the stale miasma of paper and ink.

Ryuji wasted no time running to the back of the third aisle where he knew he would find the treasure trove of hero manga. At least normally he would. But today he had different target  
“Oi! Ryuji don’t run!” the store manager yelled at the back of his most fanatical patron.

Akira was left in the dust, staying behind with the manager, smiling to himself. He always knew his blonde beau to have a soft spot for his fantasies. He could act like such a child.   
‘He really is something else.’ The leader smirked.

“Hey Akira. Always good to see you! You with Ryuji today?” the manager prodded.

“Hey Mr. Matsunaga.” The leader flashed a pleasant grin at the proprietor. “Yeah…” the grin didn’t leave Akira’s face thinking fondly of his friend. “…we’re together today.” It resonated in him. That he and Ryuji were “together”. And a strange sense of elation rushed over him to hear himself say it out loud. That all too familiar boiling in his cheeks came back.

“Oh that’s great. Hey, I was gonna tell Ryuji the latest edition of the manga he asked about last week came in. I saved him a copy if he wants it.” The shopkeeper dug behind the counter and quickly produced a quaint and curious volume on the register.

Akira wasted no time in picking up the mysterious manga. His eyebrows raised. “’My sunrise sunset prince’?” Akira was intrigued.

“Yeah, he’s been coming in the last couple of weeks looking at new stuff. He picked the first volume of this last week and asked me to hold the next issue for him. Said it was important.”  
Akira’s interest was piqued. He scanned to the frontispiece and the description there.

‘What happens when love can only last one day? Two people desperately in love try to make every minute count.’ 

Akira thumbed through the first pages of his read, and noticed how eerily similar the couples’ leading man acting a lot like Ryuji had. The dressing up, the extra care and attention to his appearance, the little displays of affection here and there. It was practically Ryuji’s playbook.

“Uh…yeah I’ll buy this for him.” Akira offered.

A quick ping of the register and the book was his. He stashed it away in a plastic bag and set off to find his wayward friend.

Akira had reached the third aisle, scanned in between the pillars of shelves but didn’t find Ryuji where he thought he would be. 

A quick subtle flash of sunshine caught his eye just on the other side of the aisle…over in the romance section. Armed with intent to be mischievous, Akira stealthily approached his target.

Careful not to arouse any attention, he slipped unnoticed from one bay to another until the back of Ryuji’s head came into view. He could see the teen was engrossed in something; He had no idea he was being stalked.

One step…two….then three, Akira snuck up just behind his friend, and cautiously peered over his left shoulder to see what was so interesting.

In his privacy, Ryuji had been reading some off the shelf manga depicting a darling male couple, one clearly blonde, the other having a lavish head of dark hair. And Akira had arrived at the best part. The pair were locked in a kiss. 

Somewhere between pages, the blonde had trailed off into his own imagination, somehow creating the same circumstances between him and a certain black-haired, glasses-wearing boy.

For just a moment, Akira tried to entertain what the other could be thinking. How this whole day started with his simple request. What all of this was leading to. If the book in front of him was any indication, Ryuji may have been planning they share something similar. 

As he thought about it, if it came to that, Akira would let him have it. 

The sleuthing leader decided to end Ryuji’s delusion. He brought his hands to hover just above Ryuji’s sides. Then with a sweeping joust he brought them down.

“HONK!” with a forceful grab, the leader ripped Ryuji out of his daydream.

“OH SH**!” the teen tumbled forward, lurching away from the shock from behind him. 

It took a second for the blonde to register what had happened to him. And the whole time he heard Akira laughing.

“Dude! Don’t do that! You scared the crap outta me!” he protested.

“Oh…I’m sorry…so sorry. I couldn’t resist.” Akira’s sides were splitting.

Ryuji gathered himself, a slight tinge of pink gracing his cheeks. He was caught and he knew it.

“Sooooo…whatcha reading?” Akira asked innocently reaching for the book Ryuji dropped on the ground.

Before his fingers could even skim the spine of the book, Ryuji grabbed it and hid it behind his back.

“Nothing!” Ryuji barked.

For a moment, Akira just stared at him. Not like he didn’t already see the best part of whatever Ryuji was reading, but maybe he could barter his way into getting the other confess. Another moment of thought and he then figured the best token of exchange.

“Okay…I’ll make you a deal then.” The blonde lowered his guard.

“You show me what you were reading, and I’ll give you ‘something’.” Akira winked, sending an excited wave of nerves up Ryuji’s back.

“Y-Yeah? Like what?”

“Oh I don’t know. What do you want?” Akira smiled, as if he needed to ask. 

Immediately Ryuji’s mind wandered back to the train, to the deed he never got to finish.

“Uummm…Okay…” the boy’s eyes wandered, almost reflexively, from Akira’s stare, to his lips, then back again.

“Are you being serious?”

“Mmhm.”

“O-Okay. I want…I mean I would like…a…” the words got harder to form the closer to the end he got. He tensed, crushing the book behind his back.

“…a k-kiss.” Ryuji put one last effort into it, squeezed his eyes shut and just let it slip out.

When he opened them again, he was certain they would not be a handsome black-haired boy in front of him anymore.

But there he stood. Akira had not moved. Though the request did make him squirm a little.

That huge slab formed in Ryuji’s throat again, almost choking him. And Akira was barely any better. The words hung in the air, and they caused both of the boys to blush.

Akira actually expected the request. But hearing it from Ryuji’s lips, the way he sheepishly asked for it, was like hearing it out of the blue. Still, he relented.

“O-Okay.” Akira composed himself. 

“R-Really?!”

“S-Sure.” The fluttering in his chest shook what confidence Akira had.

“Alright!” the blonde shouted back.

The two stood there, in a stalemate. Seconds flew by before either was brave enough to proceed.

“Soooo, are you gonna show me?” Akira was first.

“Huh? NO!” The blonde shouted back. “I-I get the kiss first.” The slight pink over his cheeks and ears now raged as a first degree burn.

“What?! How come you get to make the rules?”

“Cuz I’ve got the book!” The volume between the two was starting to draw attention from others around the store.

“Fine!” Akira almost chuckled over this childish argument.

“Good!” Ryuji spat.

“Great!” Akira retorted.

“But YOU have to kiss ME.” Another stipulation.

Building charisma over the last year didn’t amount to nothing. Akira took another cautious step towards his partner until they both stood eye to eye.

“Okay…ready?” Akira asked. Ryuji barely managed to nod. 

Ryuji closed his eyes, waiting in the dark for his hero to take his breath away. And he could feel it, Akira exhaled over his slightly parted lips. The expectation so numbed him, the book he had safeguarded slipped right out of his hands and fell to the ground.

But before the contract could be fulfilled…

“Ryuji?! Akira?!” the familiar shrill of their fellow teammate Ana rang down the aisle.

The two snapped out of their stupor, jumped to attention and faced the source of the disruption: the pig-tailed girl with knee high leather platform shoes, a black and white maid’s skirt, and layers of unnecessarily loud red eye liner, blush, and lipstick.

“Oh hey Ana.” Akira spoke for both of them. Ryuji was still reeling.

“Hey! You guys doing your usual weekend shopping?”

“Uh yeah. Why are you..?” Akira eyed Ana’s strange attire. And it was strange, even for someone who entered battle in a full body red leather outfit.

“Oh this? I got a part time job working weekends over at the maid café across the street. I just came over to pick up some reference material for a new outfit. You know what? You guys should come on over for some ice cream or something. I can get it for you for free.” She winked.

“Oh! Okay. That sounds great. Right Ryuji?” Akira turned back to his abandoned friend.

“Huh? Uh yeah. Sure.” The whole situation was barely registering to the blonde. He wasn’t paying attention. 

“Great! Listen I have to run back but I’ll see you guys there!” Ana collected her “reference” material and bolted back to the register, leaving the two pseudo-lovebirds alone. 

“C’mon Ryuji, let’s grab the next volume of our hero’s manga and…” Akira couldn’t finish his thought. He found a rather down-trodden Ryuji standing just beside him.

Ryuji couldn’t understand why. Why the day seemed to be working against him. Twice. It now was twice today he had been denied. 

Akira wouldn’t ask why his friend seemed so down. He understood why, even if just a little. So he offered his beau a token of hope.

“Hey…” Akira hooked his right arm around Ryuji’s left, pulled him close, and gave him a quick peck over his left cheek. It wasn’t what Ryuji wanted, and Akira knew it. But it was enough to licit a smile from him.

Akira let his hand slide down the length of Ryuji’s arm to his now empty hand. He slid his fingers in between Ryuji’s, and squeezed them shut. The blonde happily returned the gesture.

“…-ove you” Under his breath, where Ryuji kept his most intimate thoughts, the phrase came sliding out, barely audible.

“What?” Akira posited.

“Nothing.” Ryuji shrugged it off, instead choosing to enjoy the contact he and Akira started.

The pair then left the store, hand in hand, not caring who saw or judged.

Outside the building, in the warmth of the late afternoon air, the pair waited at the crosswalk to get to the other side of the street.

In the privacy of his thoughts, Ryuji wondered how wonderful that stolen kiss would have been. 

Ryuji’s stare traveled from the shifting traffic lights, back to his partner. And he smiled to himself, more resolved than ever. One way, in some way, he would make Akira his.

~~TBC~~


	4. 24 hour boyfriend Chapter 4

Ok here is the fourth chapter of the saga. Once again, I own nothing in whole or in part of the Persona series.  
Chapter 4 

The sun continued its restless march across the vault of the sky, bringing the day to a pleasant late afternoon hour.

At the invitation of their mutual friend and fellow Phantom Thief Ann, Ryuji and Akira found themselves in the middle of a red leather horseshoe booth, surrounded by the odd red and yellow polka-dotted walls, unnecessary cat emojis plastered on the tables, and every single waitress adorned in the standard maid’s outfits topped off with cat ears.

It was quite busy for the time of day, with kids screaming, and of course the weekend farer students seeking an afternoon thrill with a lovely girl.

“Well…what do you think?” Ann asked the boys, still shellshocked from the noises and loud colors.

“You’re actually working here?” Ryuji piped first.

“Well yeah, my agent said that it could help my profile. I get to wear pretty much whatever I want, I get some headshots, and maybe some good reviews from customers…” Ann trailed off on her own tangent. The first half of her explanation was really all Ryuji cared to hear. His attention was instead on his partner, sitting to his left. 

The blonde stared at him out of the corner of his eye, cracking an inconspicuous smile. 

While Akira was staring at the still jabbering Ann, the blonde secretly maneuvered his fallen left hand next to his partner’s, lightly brushing up against it, asking for the bond they had shared back at Akihabara Gamers and out among the streets of the city before they had to enter the café.

Akira jolted slightly, his attention pulled below to the light touch he felt.

A quick smile and shared glance between him and Ryuji, and the two were brought back together under the table.

“… and then I would have to travel to Europe for a season…hey!” Ann’s long train of thought was broken when she finally noticed.

The boys’ attention snapped away from each other back to the demanding girl in front of them.

“You know I just noticed. Ryuji…you’re wearing that jacket we picked out last week.” She pointed matter-of-factly to the blonde.

“Lookin’ pretty sharp. Soooooo….where is she?” Ann pried.

Ryuji just stared at her. And then the context of her question dawned on him.

“She?” Akira posed.

“Yeah…” Ann’s eyebrow raised at her teammates. “…Ryuji asked me last week to go with him to get him some new digs.”

Ryuji’s palms started to sweat a little. He knew what was coming.

“I picked that jacket out for him! Said he needed to look…how did he put it…?” 

“Oh please don’t.” the blonde interjected.

“…hot for a hottie?” Ann finished. And a little piece of Ryuji died inside.

In the seconds following, Akira’s curiosity was replaced by an absolute, overwhelmingly indescribable sense of humor. A smile forced its way over face, though he tried hard to hide it. He started to chuckle, it started in low then it barged its way out of his controlled expression, into a barreling laugh.

“Stop laughing!” the blonde contested.

Akira burst at the seams. The laughter had no other route out. The hilarious contagion made its way to Ann, who joined him in the jest.

“I’m glad both of you find that funny.” Ryuji protested, half laughing himself. 

“I…I’m so sorry Ryuji…” Akira could barely see his way through the tears.

“Then wipe that smile off your face.” The blonde didn’t care. He couldn’t fight off the smile either. Especially when he saw his partner so happy.

The friends shared another moment of humor before Ann returned to her original thought.

“O-Okay…seriously though. You’re wearing the jacket, so does that mean you’re on a date? Is she here now?” 

Ryuji turned to Akira for a moment, but all he got for his glance was a mischievous smile. He was on his own to explain, and Akira was curious to hear what he would come up with.

“U-um, yeah. Actually…I’m on a date right now.” He could feel that familiar burn starting to rise again.

“So then, where is she?”

Ryuji didn’t respond. He stared at Ann square in the face, lifted his right hand from the booth seat, and made a pointing gesture toward Akira.

It took a second for the thought to cross her mind. Ann’s eyes danced from Ryuji, to Akira, then back again. It made several rounds in her head before it finally clicked.

“Oh..Oh…OH! You mean? You? And Akira?” she pointed at both of the boys in their turn. And Ryuji nodded sheepishly.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK!” the girl burst in uncontrollable joy. So much so the other patrons of the café had to pass their attention over to the secluded booth.

“OH! MY! GOD! That is so cute!” She continued to gush. “Oh Ryuji, Akira that is so awesome! I always knew there was something between you two.” She bragged as if she had always known, like she thought of it first.

“Ann! What are you doing? We need you back on the clock!” The mAnnger yelled from behind the chef’s window.

“Awwww guys I’m so…so psyched for you. I’m sorry, I’ve got to get back to work. Oh, I’m gonna make you the best float we’ve got!” Ann hurried along her way, leaving the two boys alone, finally.

The two of them took it all in, the strange noises that Ann made, the stares that they got from strangers. 

“Wow…” Ryuji remarked.”…she…she really took that well.” He turned to his partner. 

“Yeah, who knew she was so team…us?” Akira retorted.

The two teens shared a smile and another friendly laugh, then were left to their own. Ryuji took the momentary confusion to curl up closer to Akira, bringing them shoulder to shoulder.

“I know I’ve said it already, but thanks for today.” The blonde offered.

“You don’t have to thank me Ryuji. I’m actually having a really good time.”

Ryuji was content, although in the back of his mind he was tracking the hours he had left in this charade. The day was passing, and he had to plan how it was supposed to end. 

And back in the mire of his passions and confusion he saw only one way he wanted the day to end. If he had his way, he would have Akira wrapped up in his arms, sharing one last kiss before midnight fell.

“So listen….I was thinking that….about tonight. You don’t have to go home. You can…stay…” his sights wandered from the table, down to his partner’s hand over his, and finally down to the white plastic bag at his feet.

“Hey…what’s in the bag?” the blonde inquired, never having noticed Akira carrying anything from the Gamers store.

“Oh…actually…” Akira released his partner’s hand to reach down for the lost treasure.

“…it’s for you.” Akira pulled the hidden volume of My Sunrise Sunset Prince. Ryuji’s eyes went wide.

“W-W-Where did you get that?!” 

“Mr. Matsunaga said he was holding it for you. I bought it for you, but I think I wanna read through it first.” No sooner had he finished his thought when Ryuji tried to wrest it from his grip.

“Oh no no no!” the black-haired teen teased. “I wanna see what you’ve been reading.” 

“No!” Ryuji protested, causing his counterpart to shift to other side of the table out of snatching distance.

“Oh come on. How bad can it be?”

Ryuji knew full well that he wouldn’t get out of this easily. Akira’s curiosity wouldn’t be sated until he got the chance to read the emotional drab the blonde had been hoarding to himself secretly.

The leader didn’t make it far in his read when he shared his first impressions.

“Hmmm, so there’s a black-haired prince? Is he a vampire?” Another few thumb turns. “Hm, a light-haired squire? And I guess these two are…lovers?” His stare jumped from the pages up to a very uncomfortable Ryuji sitting across from him. 

A few more pages in, Ryuji started to visibly shake. His apprehensions were realized when he saw Akira’s eyes almost pop out of his head.

“Oh wow! These two really are lovers.” He eyed the teen across from him incredulously. This was his chance to make the blonde squirm. And he was going to take it. His fair features were spoiled by a very devious smile, which made Ryuji even more nervous. Thumbing through the next few pages of the forbidden text, the leader feigned shock and surprise.

“Yikes, they are really REALLY in love.” He harassed. Ryuji was shifting painfully. “I didn’t know ankles could go that high.” Akira’s ruse almost broke into laughter. 

Ryuji couldn’t take it anymore. He lunged after the black-haired teen and his literary torture device.

“OK! No more! Please! I get it! It’s smut!” the blonde confessed, just barely able to grab Akira’s sleeve. His face turned a beet red. Akira finally broke down into laughter again, his tease had paid its dividends.

“Oh stop! I didn’t read anything. I was just teasing.” 

“Y-You jerk!” Ryuji was more embarrassed for falling so blindly into the ruse. Once again his friend had a good laugh at his expense.

“Here.” Akira graciously closed the book he wasn’t reading, and handed it lovingly to his friend.

“I bought it for you. I wouldn’t read it if you didn’t want me to.” 

Ryuji snatched the volume from his partner. 

“T-Thanks for buying it for me.” He proffered a small token gesture of gratitude, even though he was still burning under his collar.

“Why don’t you tell me about it?” 

“Huh?”

“Tell me about it. Tell me about the story, the characters, or why you like reading it.” Akira proposed.

“No way this isn’t a trap.” The blonde snapped back.

Akira just smiled, resting his chin on his crossed arms on the table, almost pleading like a puppy. 

“Well…” Ryuji finally started to settle. “…I like reading it because…it sorta reminds me of you and me.”

Akira was intrigued. He had fun at Ryuji’s expense, but could tell he was wandering into some very sensitive territory. Seeing Ryuji tense so much, he listened more intently.

“I know it’s stupid.”

“It’s not. Tell me.” Akira scooched back over to his friend on the other side of the booth.

“Okay. You have to promise that you won’t laugh.” The blonde prefaced.

“I won’t. I promise.” 

“Okay. I’ll catch you up on where I am right now. So there are two guys in the story. And one of them is bound by a spell. He can only come back for a day, once every year.” Ryuji started, mindlessly opening the current volume to the summary of events so far.

“Uh huh.” Akira moved closer to look over Ryuji’s shoulder at the story unfolding.

“And there’s this other guy, who’s kinda like a knight in training. He finally joins the army, and he meets the other guy during the one day he gets to come back to the real world.”

“Uh huh.”

“And the knight….sorta….kinda falls in love with the other guy.” Ryuji’s embarrassment started to peak again. Why did it always sound weird to explain a romantic story out loud?

“Uh huh.” Akira started to lean in closer, peering over on the pages.

“And…the two find each other….and they sorta….start a relationship. I can’t believe I’m talking about this with you!” Ryuji shouted. 

“You don’t have to.” Akira offered his friend who clearly was getting more and more uncomfortable with the discussion.

“No pressure. If you don’t want to talk about it you don’t have to. But I just want to take an interest in what you like to read.”

“I don’t…like it. I mean I didn’t like this kind of manga. I never really did get the whole romance thing. But the way these guys met, the friendship they started, it kinda reminded me of you and me.” Ryuji shut the book, so Akira couldn’t see the PDA the protagonists shared.

“Okay, and you really really really have to promise not to get mad.” Again the blonde buffered.

“Yeah, I promise.” 

“I liked how the two characters met, just out of nowhere, like you and me. How they started a real friendship, like you and me. And…how they started something more.” Ryuji cautiously looked up at his other, who was watching him very intently.

“And…if I got to have just one day with you where we were…” he gauged his counterpart’s reaction so far, half expecting him to just get up and leave the table. Ryuji decided to take the lower route. “…something else, I want it to be like how they spend their day together.”

“Awww, that’s, really sentimental. So that’s where you got this whole twenty-four hour idea?”

Ryuji nodded. His secret was out. This whole thing, the setup, the execution, the planning, it was all based on a fabricated reality. 

“Ryuji…that’s really sweet.” Akira almost swooned.

“Huh?”

“I mean I was gonna give you credit for thinking about this whole thing yourself….” Akira teased.

Ryuji’s bright smile started to shine through the embarrassment. 

“So, how do they end it?” 

“End what?” Ryuji stiffened.

“Their date. The two characters? How do they end the day they spend together?” Now Akira was no fool. He knew there was something the blonde was hiding. Something hidden away in his “plan”, and he was going to get to it, make Ryuji confess.

“Oh, well….in the last chapter, they go to a dance together. And…they spend the night together.” Ryuji didn’t even bother making eye contact when the next surge of humble fire rose through his cheeks.

“Spend the night huh?” 

“Actually that’s what I wanted to talk about.” Ryuji broached the discarded subject. “About tonight. You don’t have to go home…I mean if you don’t want to.” 

“Oh, you mean…you want me to spend the night?” 

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO!” Ryuji immediately retorted, trying to make it sound that it was Akira’s idea.

The aforementioned leader actually started to blush himself. He could see Ryuji really wanted this. And a part of him wanted it too. He wasn’t sure what it meant to spend the night with someone, but he invested enough trust in his friend to maybe even take a chance on it.

“Ryuji…I would…”

*SLAM*

Both boys were yanked out of their stupor by the sudden crash caused by a thick, large glass mug overloaded with ice cream.

“Here ya go guys!” Ann chirped, proud of the ridiculous tower of blended chocolate and vanilla ice cream, root beer, whipped cream, topped with a cherry and chocolate drizzle.

“One house special…two straws for sharing.” She winked at the boys. “Enjoy guys.” Ann almost had a stray tear of joy break free from her notice. “EEEEEEKKKKKK! I’m just so happy for you guys.” The girl gushed one last time before she waved them off to enjoy their treat together.

“Wow…she is weird.” Ryuji started.

“I know right?” Akira followed.

The boys looked at each other. Ryuji couldn’t help but smile, the freight of doubt in his chest lighten after he had shared his feelings. And Akira smiled back, feeling a more sincere connection with someone he always saw as his closest friend, but now he entertained the possibility of being something more.

The two started into the massive float between them, each to their own straw on opposite sides.

Only about a quarter into it, Ryuji’s eyes traversed the tower of whipped cream over to his companion, who had yet to notice he was being watched.

The distance between them was negligible. Before he was caught in a stare he couldn’t defend, Ryuji broke away from his side of the meal, leaned on his left arm for support and planted a passing kiss on Akira’s right cheek.

Akira locked eyes with his assailant, the chilled press still cool against his skin.

The two just stared at each other, deciphering how to proceed. Ryuji threw down the gauntlet with the first kiss, and Akira felt he had to reciprocate.

Another second of thought, then the leader carefully inched closer to his friend, prepared to finally give him what he had been wanting all day. 

Ryuji swallowed hard, leaned in over to Akira, and was about bring the two together…

“Well, well if it isn’t the loser brigade?” a haunting bellow came from outside the booth.

The two teens broke off their attempt to see who or what had disturbed them.

“Kamoshida?” Ryuji countered with a hint of disgust.

The aforementioned disgraced volleyball coach now stood at the head of the booth facing the two teens.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” Ryuji almost slammed the table in response to his presence.

“Oh ho, relax you blonde ape. I’m not here to see you losers. Where’s Ann?” the words slithered out from his unshaven lips. The adult man had the stink of booze hanging over him like a pall. He was wearing the same white t-shirt he always did as the coach of the Academy. The very image of everything Ryuji hated.

Akira was staring at the broken man with just as much ire. The stinging distrust didn’t go unnoticed by the man. He locked eyes with Akira before beginning his assault.

“And what are you looking at punk?” he leaned over the table to get in the leader’s face. Akira did not flinch. He glared back at the man.

“Don’t…” the blonde on the other side started clenching his fist.

“You wanna take this outside? I always knew you were a nobody and a loser. You know I could’ve expelled your ass at any time. I should’ve. You were nothing then. You’re nothing now.” The man spat. 

Akira did nothing, only felt pity for a man who had fallen so far. But his counterpart would not suffer this anymore.

“Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare talk to him like that!” Ryuji stormed to his feet, ready for battle.

Akira’s attention ran from Kamoshida to Ryuji.

“He’s more of a man than you ever were or will ever be you piece of…” Ryuji cocked his arm up, ready to throw the first hit.

Akira saw this first and grabbed the sleeve of his friend before he did anything he would regret.

“Ryuji!” the slight tug on his sleeve brought the blonde back down to his senses, if only for a moment. He looked at his leader, and his rage started to melt a little.

“Ryuji don’t. He’s not worth this.”

“Oh, letting your boyfriend fight your battles for you?”

Admittedly, calling Akira his boyfriend did stir a sting of hope in the blonde. 

He wanted it badly. To hit that smug man in front of him, bring him to the floor, like a conquering knight defeating the dragon. And if he did maybe he would get the admiration of his heartthrob just like in his manga.

“Just get out of here Kamoshida. You don’t belong here. Maybe in a gutter somewhere.” The blonde was proud of that. So much so he was hoping Akira had noticed. 

What he didn’t notice, was the fist that came after it. 

It made swift contact against his jaw, sending Ryuji back against the booth. 

“Watch your mouth with me you useless…” Kamoshida hissed, then another fist was thrown. Straight against the right side of his face.

Akira rose from the booth and landed a solid hit, bringing the defaced coach to the floor. 

He didn’t care about that stupid adult. Akira turned immediately to his injured friend, reached down to grab his arm, and brought him safely to his side.

“You sonofabitch!” Ryuji spat at the fallen adult.

“Kamoshida! What are you doing here?” Ann came out to see what the commotion was. “Someone call the police.” She calmly stated. 

Ann quickly turned to the two boys, seeing Akira huddling his blonde to his side. She saw a thin line of blood down Ryuji’s lips.

“Ryuji? Are you okay?”

The boys didn’t respond. Akira shifted his body in front of Ryuji to keep him safe from the rampage that the fallen coach was sure to unleash for the jab he suffered at their hands.

“Guys, go into the bathroom. I’ll deal with him.” 

Akira wasted no time spiriting his injured hero away from the assailant, rushing over to the men’s bathroom, and once safe behind the door locked it for their privacy.

Akira brought Ryuji over to the sink where he ran the tap and grabbed some paper towels to address the blood over his lips.

Ryuji was still shaken from the whole affair. In the span of minutes, he felt the rush of anger and rage against a man he hated, defended his friend from his venom, took a shot to the jaw, felt the sudden white rage build back up and then found himself in Akira’s arms now hidden away in the restroom.

“Hey…Ryuji.” He could hear the faint sound of that whimsical voice through the ringing in his ears.

“Ryuji?..” finally the blonde’s focus rested on his friend in front of him.

“…Hey? Are you okay?” Akira ran a towel under the hot tap, then started to dab the crimson stream from the other’s face. 

“I…hate him.” The blonde retorted.

“Heh, I know you do.” Akira felt a little relief that his friend was slowly returning to him.

“He...” Ryuji started to tear up. “…he is the last person I wanted to see today.”

“I know.” Akira nodded with a gentle smile as he cleaned the sore.

“He has no right. No right to talk to you like that.” 

“Ryuji….I don’t care what Kamoshida thinks. I care about you, though. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Ryuji’s anger was quickly giving sway to a new sensation. To hear Akira, especially Akira, admit to him that he cares for him, something that so few in his life ever told him, it made that spark of hope in him burn just a little bit brighter.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just wish…I could’ve knocked that guy out. After what he said.”

“You don’t have to defend me. I can handle myself.” 

“Although…it was kinda nice to have a brave knight stand up for me.” The leader chuckled to himself.

Ryuji’s rage, his anger towards the indignity that Kamoshida launched at his friend was fading faster. 

He saw that confident, unyielding, and warm smile from his leader.

“Y’know, I’d always stand up for you.”

“I know you would.” Akira smiled assuredly.

“Y’know, you’ve always stood up for everyone, even for that piece of garbage out there.” He winced at the dabbing of his sore lip. 

“I just thought, for once, I could defend you.” Ryuji took Akira’s prodding hand into his. He took a cautious step forward, being lead by an unknown and unseen force.

“I just wanted to show you that…you can rely on me.” Another step closer, he raised his free hand to land right over Akira’s chest. He gave a small push against the beating fabric of Akira’s shirt, forcing his taller back against the nearest wall.

“I want you to depend on me.” That indescribable longing that shadowed him finally caught him in its grip. The teen’s heart matched the racing of the other.  
Ryuji took Akira’s hand firmly in his, again entwining their fingers together, while his other arm slunk around the other boy’s right side.

“Ryuji…?” Akira tried to contest. But he knew words would not reach him. Not now, that the blonde had him exactly where he wanted him.

Mere seconds passed between Ryuji’s decision and when he forced himself on his friend, backing him into the wall, and finally, at long last took what he waited for all day long.

Ryuji lightly forced his lips on Akira. 

The kiss was sudden, chaste, longing. Ryuji held his breath when he decided to take the plunge. 

As quickly as he claimed it, Ryuji broke the kiss, leaving a small audible “smack” between their lips. 

Ryuji didn’t pull away entirely. He just hovered there, mere centimeters away from another kiss.

“Sorry.” Was all he could muster. 

He felt the frenzied breathing of his companion against his lips, which drove Ryuji to want to claim him again.

He wanted it again. Once was not enough. The blonde pressed harder against Akira. What he was feeling, he wanted more of it. 

Again, against the odds he thought would never favor him, Ryuji claimed Akira for himself, the kiss commanding the blonde to inhale sharply. This time, Ryuji let his eyes shutter closed under the warmth   
swelling in him.

Akira’s mind was swimming, lost in the ether. He could almost feel a sort of desperation in Ryuji’s actions. The way he clung to him as if he would fall off a cliff.

Almost too quickly, the blonde separated again. His breaths were struggling to catch up to the billowing force of desire making his body shake.

For a moment, the two teens didn’t speak, they barely remembered where they were. 

Ryuji’s eyes fell to his fist, still wrapped with a handful of his friend’s shirt. As the yearning inside started to recede, his breathing became more stable, his vision less opaque.

Then the gravity of what had just taken place between the two had fallen on him. He had finally crossed the last line between friends and lovers.

The blonde broke down, still holding strong to Akira. 

He brought his weight to bear against Akira, chest to chest, resting his forehead against Akira’s right shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered again. Not sure what else to say. He couldn’t face whatever was about to happen, and he didn’t want to. 

For as much time as he was allowed, Ryuji was going to enjoy this. 

The feel of Akira’s skin on his, the smell of his leader through his shirt, but most importantly the delightful confusion the black-haired teen caused in him.  
“Ryuji….?” Akira was first to speak.

The blonde didn’t raise his head from the shoulder it perched on. 

“I’m…sorry.” Ryuji finally released his heartthrob, leaving him still leaning against the wall.

The teen promptly unlocked the bathroom door, left its protective privacy, leaving Akira still inside.

“Ryuji? Hey are you okay?” Ann was outside waiting.

The forlorn teen passed her a glance, crossed the hallway between walls, slammed his back against the adjacent wall and vented in front of her.

“No…I think…I think I screwed up.”

~~~~TBC~~~~


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

The streets were abuzz with strobing police lights and an audience desperate to get a look at the scene.

The two teens wrapped up in the chaos found themselves on a bench watching it all unfold in front of them.

Shortly after Kamoshida made his drunken scene, the authorities were called to remove him.

Ryuji and Akira now sat on the bench opposite the café where two squad cars were parked outside. The doors of the café swung open, a broken man leaving in handcuffs spouting profanities at no one in particular.

‘What a loser.’ Ryuji couldn’t help enjoying the sight. He just wished he could have landed just one punch, as payback for the injury he carried, and for Akira. The drunk clown deserved everything that he got, especially for insulting his boyfriend.

A swift, bitter reminder of his last action came to the fore of his mind, and he immediately felt the pangs of regret and shame.

So much so he didn’t even try to catch a sight of Akira out of the corner of his eye.

“Well good riddance.” Ann came over from the chaos now beginning to disperse. She immediately started to inspect the damaged blonde, lifting his chin to greet her gaze. A quick scan over his condition and she was pleased.

“Oh you’re fine Ryuji. You’ve definitely gotten worse.” She winked at him. But he didn’t respond at all, which distressed her.

“Thanks Ann.” Was all he cared to say.

The two boys rose from the bench as the squad cars started to pull away with their prisoner in tow.

Ann wrapped her arms around Ryuji first to say goodbye.

“Alright take care guys.” The girl perked so both could hear her. But as soon as she had Ryuji secure in her farewell embrace she brought her lips up to his ear. “Don’t worry….you didn’t screw anything up.” Reminded of the last words Ryuji said to her.

She pressed her hug for one more second, then passed her best wishes to Akira before returning to the café to finish her shift.

The two boys wandered the streets of Akihabara aimlessly, both to their respective thoughts, neither of them daring to speak first.

Akira was busy processing the whole day. The morning, how it all started so innocently, to have it all turn out the way it did. And of course he couldn’t dismiss what had taken place in the café. He tried to understand why Ryuji did what he did. The more he thought about it, he started to focus more on the kiss itself, and why it felt almost natural.

Ryuji’s mind meanwhile raced between doubt, some semblance of hope, and a sense of fear.

‘I can’t believe I did that.’ He cursed.

He remembered that moment, his embarrassment for being hit by such a lowlife, his shame for not being able to stand up for his friend, and his absolute frustration at himself for not being able to just shout at Akira what he was feeling.

But there he was, his leader, right by his side as always, in his lowest state, just his presence was a comfort.

It was overwhelming for Ryuji. In that instant he threw all of his frustrations into his actions, pinning his leader against whatever surface was available and just taking him.

And that was enough for him to feel guilt. But deeper within that guilt was confusion. He thought he knew what he had felt for his leader up to that point. But something else compelled him to do what he did. And whatever it was may have cost him his friend.

In that intimate moment he shared with Akira, what scared him the most, was the lack of response from his leader.

Ryuji kissed him once, waiting for a return, then twice. But nothing. Akira didn’t return the kiss. He was beginning to wonder if Akira hated him for it.

“Hey Ryuji?” that voice pulled him back.

“Huh…?”

“I said are you okay?” Akira asked, now for the second time.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine.” The blonde feigned a smile. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

Akira wasn’t convinced. He spotted a corner pharmacy and quickly dismissed himself.

“Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

~~~Minutes later~~~

The leader returned to the still sulking blonde, who had since Akira left returned to the brooding thoughts he was in earlier.

“Okay. I got what we need.”

“What we need?”

“Yeah. Come on.” Akira lead the way across the street, to a local park. The first free bench he caught sight of he claimed.

Akira invited his companion to sit right next to him as he shuffled through the supplies he got at the pharmacy.

“Here. Now we can treat that properly.”

Ryuji eyed the saline treatments and the ointments that his friend was pulling out, preparing for the procedure.

“Okay, try to hold still.” Akira raised his right hand just under Ryuji’s chin to anchor it in place.

The blonde shuddered at the touch, a spark of electricity running up his back.

While Akira held his friend in place, his free hand brought up the saline swab to the still sore injury in the corner of Ryuji’s mouth.

The first touch stung. Wiping away the dried blood caused Ryuji to wince.

His eyes met Akira’s, just momentarily, then wandered to the small smudge of blood just outside the perimeter of his companion’s lips, a reminder of where the two of them shared their kiss.

His eyes then darted back to Akira’s as he prepared to use the ointment to finish the procedure.

A quick dab over the blonde’s skin, then Akira carefully massaged the area.

He’s not sure what possessed him to do it, but Ryuji moved to capture Akira’s hand against his cheek. Taking his hand to hold down his leader’s, if only to revel in its touch for a little longer.

For a moment, he was prepared to try for another kiss. But thought better of it.

He let the touch linger as long as he could without it getting awkward.

“Thanks RenRen.” The first words he uttered for his friend in the last hour.

“What’s wrong?” the leader quickly followed.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong? You’ve been acting sorta…distant.”

“Nothing.” The blonde tried to fake a smile which he was sure Akira could see right through.

“I know something’s eating you.”

Ryuji didn’t bother returning his opinion. He just waved it off, turned from his companion’s stare and let his eyes fall to his feet.

And there the two sat in silence. Akira was growing more concerned as Ryuji drifted away from him.

‘How am I supposed to fix this?’ Ryuji thought to himself. Oddly, Akira was thinking the same thing at that moment.

‘I wish I could just take it back.’ He realized.

“Hey…”

Ryuji’s eyes jumped from his feet over to his partner, whose stare was front and center. Ryuji followed his stare to the open track field across from them, practically barren of any racers except for the weekend runners.

“…let’s go.” Akira grabbed his friend’s hand and lead him down to the track.

“What? What are we doing?”

“We are going to run this out.” The leader shot back.

“Huh?” Ryuji was still confused.

“We are going to run the track until you feel better.”

“What? I’m fine.” Ryuji didn’t finish his thought before Akira helped remove his jacket for him, leaving it behind on the bench along with the rest of their belongings.

“You’re not. I know you’re not. And you won’t talk about it.” The sudden chill of the approaching evening made the blonde shiver without his jacket.

“Look we don’t have to do this.” The blonde offered, though he was flattered that Akira was trying to make him feel better.

“No, we are. And we won’t stop until you’re ready to talk about whatever is bugging you.” Akira started his stretches and he invited Ryuji to do the same.

“Uh Ok.”

Akira started a slow trot, turning behind him to watch Ryuji catch up to him.

The two ran at a gallop, side by side. They turned the first quarter track and hurried past the half track marker.

Ryuji’s thoughts were now more jumbled than ever, trying to focus on his pace and still trying to figure out how to talk about the kiss. And mingled among the confusion was his struggle to remember how it felt. How it felt for just a moment to have his partner belong to him.

“C’mon Ryuji! Don’t fall behind!”

The blonde snapped out of his dream. He had to push himself to close the distance his lost focus had created between them.

It didn’t take long for the two to complete the circuit. The two had started to breathe heavier after the first round.

“So…*huff*…you ready to talk about it?”

“Well….” Ryuji leaned his hands on his knees, catching his breath, but he didn’t have to wait long.

“Nope! Too slow! Another lap!”

“WHAT?!”

Akira grabbed his friend’s wrist and dragged him back to the starting line and then broke out in another hard run.

The cooling air of the evening rushed into his lungs, almost chafing them.

They passed the half marker again when the pain started.

The cold air was scratching their lungs.

This continued for the next hour. The painful cycle of completing the circuit, Akira patiently waiting for his friend to break his silence, Ryuji refusing, and then the leader forcing him to go again.

It wasn’t until the twelfth time around, Ryuji’s insistence was being eaten away by his fatigue.

“O-Okay! *Wheeze* I’ll…I’ll talk.” The blonde doubled over, that raw dryness clinging to his throat. And Akira was no better. The two teens made their way from the track over to the center green of the field where they both collapsed on their backs. The cooled finely cut field grass sent chills through their bodies.

The two just stared up at the ink-black sky that had just started to unveil its countless stars, the spectrum of evening colors off on the horizon.

Ryuji inhaled sharply, preparing for the inevitable explanation he had to offer.

“So…you know what’s been bothering me.” He started.

“I do?”

“Yeah…the cafe?” Ryuji continued.

“Oh…” Akira moved his arms from his sides and brought them together behind his head for support. “…you mean the weird cat theme going on?” he jested.

“Don’t…do that.” Ryuji turned on his side to face the teen next to him, to show him he was being serious. “You know what I mean. The…kiss.” It finally, painfully came out.

“I’m sorry I did that.” He hurried his eyes away in shame.

“Why?”

“Huh?” Not the reaction he was expecting.

“Why?” Akira asked again, raising himself into sitting position. “Do you regret doing it?”

“What? No!” Ryuji immediately defended. “I mean….a little…but not because I didn’t want to.”

Ryuji joined his companion, sitting upright.

“I…don’t know how to say it. I know this sounds stupid, but I wanted to feel…I mean I wanted to know what I was feeling.”

“Feeling?”

Ryuji shuffled uncomfortably, feeling some of a confession slipping out of his control. “I don’t know why, but I feel something with you. I don’t know what it is. I mean I thought I knew. I guess I thought maybe if I tried…” the blonde eyed Akira carefully for any sign that he was stepping over a line before he continued. “…maybe if I tried…anything, maybe I would know for sure.”

“Hmmm.” Akira listened intently.

“I know it sounds stupid. I know it doesn’t make sense. I still don’t think I know what any of this is.”

“Ryuji?” Akira leaned forward, capturing the blonde’s attention.

“Can I help?” the leader offered.

“Y-You don’t have to do anything. You’ve done more than enough. You’ve been so great about all of this…” he tried to dismiss the idea but was silenced right at the end of his thought.

Akira made the sweet contact this time, catching the other in a simple kiss.

Ryuji’s eyes widened, the electricity starting in his lips and then quickly spreading, leaving a firm blush over his body.

Akira pressed in, stumbling slightly when Ryuji pulled away, leaving a slight gap between them.

“W-W-What was that?”

“Just a kiss.” Akira mused. “What? I shouldn’t do that?”

The blonde could spare no words. The unknown compulsion he felt in the café came rushing back.

“N-No…just...”

Ryuji hooked his fingers in the collar of Akira’s shirt and coaxed him back into the gentle embrace.

The warmth again erupted in the blonde, his flurry of thoughts only focused on the boy in front of him. The doubts he harbored before disappeared. He now knew, without question, what it was that haunted him.

And it didn’t scare him. He just let the moment take him away again.

The two shared each other for what seemed like minutes before separating.

After the heat of the contact had cooled, Akira sat back on his heels and smiled at his counterpart, who returned the smile at last.

“So? Feel better?” Akira asked.

Ryuji didn’t answer. He threw himself at his leader, wrapping his arms around his neck, and pinning him against the ground.

Akira smirked and returned the appreciative embrace.

Under the blanket of stars, the two enjoyed being in the other’s company, each to his own thoughts.

What neither of them could have known was at that moment they both came to terms with what they felt for the other. And each began to wonder…

‘How can I tell him?’

~~To be concluded~~~


End file.
